It was intense and a bit of a rollercoaster, utterly compelling!
No spoilers, so I won't give anything away, but it is basically a multi narrated story of murder, betrayal, obsession, and secrecy....set in Ireland from the 1980's to the present time.
It was an un-put-down-able read!

I enjoyed this book and thank Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read it.

‘Lying In Wait’ is the latest book by Irish author, Liz Nugent.

Lydia Fitzsimons lives in the perfect house with her adoring husband and beloved son. There is just one thing Lydia yearns for to make her perfect life complete, though the last thing she expects is that pursuing it will lead to murder. However, needs must – because nothing can stop this mother from getting what she wants.

‘Lying In Wait’ is the second book from Liz Nugent after her first book, the award winning crime thriller, ‘Unravelling Oliver’ and her second is just as intense and atmospheric.

The story is set in Dublin in 1980’s when Lydia Fitzsimmons is desperate for another child, but unable to have another one, she hires the help of Annie Doyle, a troubled, young prostitute who ends up dead. With blood on her and her husband’s Andrews hands, the pair hide Annie’s death from the world and carry on with their lives as best they can. Meanwhile, their only son Lawrence suspects something but nothing is ever done about it. Annie’s family report the girl missing but she is never found and her sister Karen is certain that someday her sister will turn up explaining her absence.

Seen through the narrative of the three main characters of the story, Lydia, Lawrence and Karen, the story is written from the perspective of the murderer, the murderers son and the victim’s sister and tells how one person wants the problem to go away whilst another person is desperate to find answers.

The voices are distinct, particularly Lydia, who to the outside world leads a privileged and pampered life, but once we delve deeper into her past with family secrets deeply hidden, we see a troubled character who shows little or no remorse for her actions and the consequences. She controls and manipulates her son, leading him to believe that she is a poor, weak woman but she is incredibly vindictive with her motives. Lawrence feels sorry for his mother, but he sees through her actions and knows that she isn’t as innocent as she makes herself out to be. Meanwhile, on the other side of Dublin, we meet Karen, Annie’s sister, a sophisticated young woman, plucked from obscurity to become a model, she believes her sister wouldn’t just disappear and is determined to find out what really happened.

‘Lying In Wait’ is a cleverly observed and written psychological thriller that pulls the reader in, with a dark and intricate storyline. Set against the poverty stricken background of 1980’s Dublin, this tense and eerie setting is the perfect location for this twisty and chilling tale with an ending that leaves the reader astounded.

You can buy Lying In Wait from Amazon and is available to buy from good bookshops.

A creepy psychological thriller set in Dublin that will keep you guessing. Dark and twisted will keep you gripped from the beginning.

(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

The last people who expect to be meeting with a drug-addicted prostitute are a respected judge and his reclusive wife. And they certainly don't plan to kill her and bury her in their exquisite suburban garden. Yet Andrew and Lydia Fitzsimons find themselves in this unfortunate situation. While Lydia does all she can to protect their innocent son Laurence and their social standing, her husband begins to falls apart. But Laurence is not as naïve as Lydia thinks. And his obsession with the dead girl's family may be the undoing of his own.

Claustrophobic is probably the best word to describe this book. From the opening line, we are drawn into a psychological thriller that, with every turn of the page, we feel the walls of suspense and tension close in just a little more, threatening to choke us with its splendid prose and pacing.

I am not even sure what makes this story so good. Could it be the unusual characters and their stories? Could it be the pacing - smooth and even, but builds to a stunning climax? Could it be the setting? Dublin in the 1980's is an interesting choice - but one that works really well. Heck, it could be any - or all - of those things.

Overall, there were one or two minor grievances - which I don't think need to be mentioned here for fear of detracting from what is a really, really good book. Check this thing out and if, like me, you haven't read Liz Nugent's first book, go and track that down and read it too.


Paul
ARH

Now I don’t know about you, but sometimes just the blurb and the first paragraph of a book is enough for me to know that this is my kind of book and Lying in Wait is certainly “my kind of book!”. Lying in Wait is the story of Andrew and Lydia Fitzsimmons and their only son Lawrence. The story starts off with a murder and we know immediately who killed Annie Doyle, but we don’t know why. The story is wonderfully narrated through Lydia (OMG mother-from-hell), Lawrence (mollycoddled only son) and Karen’s (the murdered girls sister) and with each chapter more secrets are uncovered and more twists are revealed. This is a very dry and dark psychological thriller which ticked all my personal requirements for a 5 star book.

Unlikeable characters ✔
Dry Humour & Sarcasm ✔
Page Turner ✔
Twisted and Uncomfortable ✔
Killer Ending ✔
I loved this and it will be going into my Top Ten Books of 2017

A compelling thriller from a seriously good writer.

Not a whodunnit but more a when will they be found out, if ever. Loved this book from start to finish as one wrong decision seeps slowly into a two families lives and infects the rest of their lives. First time I have read this author but won't be the last.

I adored this second psychological thriller, from the killer opening line (another one!) to the surprise ending. Lydia is a fantastically heinous creation, a character you love to hate but can't stop reading about her. Fabulous stuff -thank you!

Goodness me what an utterly brilliant book, I honestly couldn't put it down. Superb.